Worries
by Belfast Docks
Summary: "He had once vowed that he would never Obliviate any part of Severus's mind, but there were many times Albus Dumbledore considered rescinding that personal secret vow." Missing moment from PoA, in which Albus helps Severus examine a statute and has a serious discussion with Remus.


**Author's Note:** A brief missing moment from _Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban_. Dumbledore and Snape have a discussion about Harry's second illegal trip into Hogsmeade, and Dumbledore and Remus have a discussion about the same thing.

 **Disclaimer:** I obviously do not own Harry Potter.

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 **Worries**

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He had once vowed that he would never Obliviate any part of Severus's mind, but there were many times Albus Dumbledore considered rescinding that personal secret vow.

Like right now, for instance. Severus had burst into his office, and without any preamble, had started railing furiously. It had been like this for the better part of the year; if it wasn't about Harry, it was about Remus, and Albus was growing weary of the same arguments.

"Draco Malfoy claims he saw Potter's head in Hogsmeade! He said he came upon Weasley alone, and suddenly a large amount of mud hit him in the face! Apparently Potter was invisible and then his head suddenly appeared in the middle of all of this! NO PART OF POTTER HAS PERMISSION TO BE IN HOGSMEADE! What the _bloody hell_ was he doing in Hogsmeade? He's _just_ like his father; rules are beneath him! After everything that has been done this year to ensure _his safety_ , he flouts the rules as if they are of no importance! He deserves to be killed by Black if he keeps this up!"

Albus sighed and glanced at the Charms Quarterly he had been perusing moments before his office door had banged open. Best not to pick the magazine up; Severus was in a touchy mood and would likely lose his temper even more if he thought the headmaster weren't paying proper attention.

Instead, he said patiently, "I highly doubt Harry snuck past the Dementors. He doesn't _want_ to go near them, Severus. When Harry gets too close to a Dementor, he hears Lily pleading with Voldemort during the last moments of her life, begging Voldemort not to kill him. It is the last memory he has of his mother, and that is what the Dementors make him remember. So he tends to avoid them."

Severus's face went a shade paler, but the remark did not deter him as Albus had hoped it would.

"Be that as it may," he growled, "Malfoy _says_ he was in Hogsmeade!"

"Dementors are not fooled by disguises or Disillusionment Charms, Severus. You know this. Are you suggesting that Harry has somehow found a way to trick a Dementor? If he has, I dearly would like to know what the secret is."

Severus's black eyes glittered. "I _suspect_ he used a secret tunnel out of the school, that leads directly to Hogsmeade, and that he bypassed the Dementors completely!"

"Mr. Filch has all of the secret passageways covered." Albus frowned. "I would never presume, of course, to know all of Hogwarts' secrets. But if there are any additional passageways, I do not know of them."

"There is an unknown passage on the third floor. I am certain of it!"

"Is it _possible_ that Draco concocted a scheme to try and get Harry in trouble? Those two boys detest each other, much as you and James did..."

"At least come with me to the third floor!" Severus snarled, ignoring the jab about James, as well. "And we can examine the statue in question together!"

"Why do you suspect one statue in particular over all of the others?"

Severus grit his teeth in frustration. "I saw Potter there after the rest of the school left for Hogsmeade. He was with Longbottom. They claimed to have just _met_ there, but I don't believe it –"

"Is that all?" Albus hoped that Severus would hear the annoyed tone in his voice. "They have a right to walk the halls, Severus."

But Severus kept on talking, as though he had not been interrupted. "And when Malfoy returned to tell me he had seen Potter in Hogsmeade, I went immediately to that statue and found Potter there _again_! He was covered in mud and dripping with sweat, as if he'd run back from Hogsmeade, too! The mud fits with Draco's story! You can't tell me he was out in the greenhouses, playing in the dirt!"

 _Innocent until proven guilty_ , Albus immediately thought, and he said, "But that is highly plausible theory. He _could_ have been. Neville particularly enjoys the greenhouses; perhaps they went there together –"

" _Headmaster_!"

Albus sighed. This was not how he wanted to spend his afternoon – searching for hidden passageways in the castle that might, or might not, lead to Hogsmeade. But sometimes it was best to humor Severus.

"Very well, let us go explore this statue, then. Since you are so insistent."

Severus's face changed subtly, from anger to triumph, but Albus ignored that. He had learned, in the past twelve years, to read his Potions Master's expressions with great ease. It was damned annoying, sometimes. Severus may have been able to fool Voldemort, but he was not able to fool Albus Dumbledore. Of course, he wasn't trying as hard, either.

The statue turned out to be that of a one-eyed witch, hideous and crone-like, with a hump on her back.

"Fascinating. This is your mysterious secret passage, then?"

"Yes, headmaster. Or so I believe."

"Did you use Legilimency on Harry?" Albus asked sharply.

Severus flushed. "You've told me not to, but Potter's mind is ridiculously easy to penetrate without his even _knowing_ it."

"Regardless," Albus said coolly, "you are not to read students' minds – not even Harry's – without permission. That is an invasion of privacy, and you know it, Severus. How many times do I have to tell you this?"

"Just help me examine this statue!"

"Did you see this statue in Harry's mind?"

"No, but I saw Hogsmeade, and –"

"He could have seen a photograph of Hogsmeade." Albus ran his hand over the witch's face and moved around to the back.

"He had Zonko's products in his pocket. _And_ an old piece of parchment," Severus snarled.

"What did he say about the Zonko's products?"

"That Weasley gave them to him before the holidays –"

"Highly plausible."

" _The parchment_!"

"Some students carry parchment around. Why is that so strange?" The hump seemed solid; so he moved on to examine the front.

"This particular piece of parchment isn't ordinary! Mr. Filch confiscated it years ago. In my seventh year, to be precise!"

"And you recognized a piece of parchment from that long ago? Really, Severus, this is sounding more unlikely by the moment. I don't see anything different about this statue than any other statue in this castle."

"The parchment contains secret instructions!" Severus briefly looked mad. "On how to get into Hogsmeade! It was written by –"

The sound of approaching footsteps made Severus cease talking, and a few seconds later, Remus walked around the corner with a mug of tea and a book. When he saw Albus and Severus, he paused, his eyebrows lifting into his hairline.

"Was there a staff meeting I forgot?"

"Not at all, Remus." Albus smiled. "Severus was trying to convince me that there was a secret passageway behind this statue."

"Really?" Remus looked mildly interested. "Is there?"

" _You bloody well know there is, Lupin_!" Severus snarled.

Remus glanced in surprise at his colleague, and replied, "I'm sorry, Severus. But I'm afraid I really have no idea what you're talking about. I certainly wouldn't presume to know all of Hogwarts' secrets."

"Exactly what I said!" Albus beamed. "Do forgive him, Remus. He's upset about something that probably didn't even happen." Then, turning to the Potions Master, he added, "Severus, I suspect Draco made the story up, and that Harry was just playing with Neville this afternoon. It's all a coincidence. Perhaps they went to the greenhouses to see some of Neville's projects. Professor Sprout has been letting him tend to some of the more exotic plants to gain additional experience, since he excels so at the subject."

Incensed, but without another word, Severus shot Remus a hateful glare, turned on his heel, and stormed off.

Albus watched him go with a feeling of pity and sadness. The man would never learn to like Harry, and it seemed unlikely that he would warm up to Remus, either. Both issues were exceedingly frustrating.

Remus said nothing for a moment, but sipped his tea as he watched Severus's retreating back. Finally he mused, "What on earth happened?"

Albus started back for his office, motioning the Defense Professor to follow. "Draco Malfoy claims he saw Harry Potter's head in Hogsmeade today, and that Harry threw mud at him."

Remus sighed. "Harry and Draco remind me so much of James and Severus."

"I mentioned that earlier. Severus didn't take too kindly to it."

"I suspect not."

"Apparently, Severus stumbled across Harry and Neville at that statue earlier today, and when Draco returned from Hogsmeade, Severus returned to the statue and found Harry again, covered in mud."

Remus's brows knit together, but he said nothing.

"That is a pensive look, Remus."

Remus immediately smiled. "Forgive me. Severus called me down to his office earlier today. He was interrogating Harry. Some of the products Harry had in his pockets were joke products, including the piece of parchment Severus mentioned."

"Was the parchment a joke product from Zonkos? Severus said he recognized it from his own school days, which I find astounding."

"I don't think it's anything to concern yourself with, Headmaster. It appears to be a parchment that insults the reader. Not terribly dangerous. Just childish. I confiscated it myself and I'm in the process of examining it."

"So by that, I take it to mean that you were able to pull Harry from Severus's office and get him out of a detention." Albus's mustache quivered in amusement.

Remus's smile faded. "Something like that. I warned Harry to be careful. Black certainly wants him dead. And it wouldn't do for Harry to get on Severus's last nerve, either. It's hard to say whether Black or Severus will kill Harry first. Or Voldemort."

Albus felt the weight of the world fall back on his shoulders at the mention of Sirius and Voldemort. He would never have believed it all those years ago, that Sirius Black would turn against his friends. It was hard to believe even now, in some ways. Albus was certain that Harry couldn't have gotten past the dementors – but Sirius had, and a fraction of a doubt needled in his mind. It didn't make the first bit of sense. None of it made sense. But it would in the end, and he knew it well. At some point, Sirius would attack, and Albus would make sure he was around to interview the man when that happened. He may have demanded that Severus not use Occulmancy on the students, but Albus would certainly use it on a mass murderer. And hopefully, _before_ Harry got killed.

As for Harry, he rather suspected the boy _had_ been in Hogsmeade. It wasn't like Harry to sit still, or remain in the castle while all of his friends enjoyed the village. He was probably angry at the Dursleys for refusing to sign his permission form. And Harry would have found the prospect of humiliating Malfoy highly enjoyable, especially if Malfoy had been taunting Ron Weasley. Did Albus worry that Sirius would attack Harry in Hogsmeade? Yes, because he worried about a lot of things, but some things could not be stopped – he could not seem to prevent Harry from traipsing off to have fun with his friends, and the boy had managed to elude Voldemort thrice, now. Perhaps he would get lucky again.

Rousing himself, he gave Remus a tired smile. "I worry constantly, and yet, I feel as if I am able to do nothing. Having escaped Voldemort three times now, Harry often forgets he is still just a young teenager, and not a fully grown wizard. I suspect you were able to do more today to convince him to stay in the castle...far more than Severus or I ever could. You have a way about you that would make him see things in a different light."

"Let us hope he listened," Remus replied quietly, and there was a sad, haunted look about his eyes.

Albus nodded and patted Remus on the shoulder. "Yes. That is all we can do at present, I'm afraid. Thank you, Remus."

"I should return to my office and work on next week's lessons. Do forgive me, sir."

"Not at all. Please let me know if you need me."

Remus said nothing, and Albus watched him go with a twinge of sadness.


End file.
